Psychedelic Hollow
itsmeocean@hotmail.com
Chapter 13
Picture yourself in a boat on a river,
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly,
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes.
Cellophane flowers of yellow and green,
Towering over your head.
Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes,
And she's gone.
(John Lennon, Paul McCartney, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", 1974)
Nancy smiled at Frank as he placed a glass of water on the coffee table for her. He reciprocated politely. The mélange of anxiety-related emotions swirling inside her stomach wasn't helping the tensed aftermath of the kiss between her and his brother. Why had she hurled herself on Joe anyway? And why should the little imp sing that song? It was too late for remorse now that the deed was done and, from a lighter hearted angle- the deed was indeed pretty enjoyable.
Still, back to reality, on every count, the kiss was wrong because she didn't want to kiss Joe. If she loved a Hardy, it would always and only be Frank.
Gosh! Here I am, having these juvenile thoughts like some high school… no… GRADE SCHOOL girl… and I still have a case that's losing direction and aim. Say something, Frank… please… just start any conversation…
"Hey, bro…" Joe stumbled down the stairs in a very typical loose-fitting t-shirt and jeans. His hair was done up in spikes, and a chain earring was threaded through both the pierced holes on his right ear. Right then, the contrast between Frank and Joe was never more apparent. In a pressed short-sleeved shirt and pants, Frank was the practical antithesis to Joe's grunge, rebellious efforts. She knew which brother her heart beat for so why did she have go kiss the other and create a puddle of quicksand in a safe, happy sandbox?
The case, Nancy! The case!
"Hello."
Did she just imagined it or was Frank's greeting to Joe extremely distanced? Glancing quickly at the younger Hardy, she could tell by Joe's fleeting shell-shocked mien that it wasn't her imagination. Joe felt the icy coolness as well.
Boy, is this going to be great. I have somehow caused the birth of a feud between the brothers. I done Joe a disservice by kissing him and mistaking him to be his brother. Frank misunderstood everything. My case is hitting against brick walls that I don't exactly have the energy to push down… this is just great. I should just pack my bags, quit my job and go on my annual guilt trip.
"Ahm… so, where have the both of you stopped? I can catch up… no problemo." Joe sprawled himself on the long couch, trying to be unaffected. Nancy, making herself comfortable on the adjacent settee, shook her head, the fakeness of everyone's control in the pressurizing living room settling down heavily on her smile.
"You didn't miss anything. We waited for you."
"Let's start." Frank sat on the floor cross-legged, facing the both of them, his PDA on the coffee table. "You have anything to tell us, Nancy?"
Nancy. He's calling me Nancy. That's so bad….bad…
"The police pretty much believed McCain's story. They gathered that his situation is very similar to that of vacant condominiums broken in by young kids looking for a place to party and crash. Evidence gathered from the scene proves the existence of a variety of club drugs being abused at the rave party but Rofomyn didn't turn out. I have here…" She reached inside her pocket and drew out a small notebook, "Some names. They sent the prints and DNA samples found for lab testing. I don't have the results of the DNA tests yet. Most of the prints were unusable but we do have a couple of exploitable ones. Five names turned out from positive matches- all kids with some records. Speed-driving, drug abuse etc. We also ran Colin's name into the database and it seems like he had a run-in with the law for drug possession two years ago. McCain also told us that besides his wife and children, his younger sister, Lisa McCain, also knew about his neglect of the warehouses."
"Good. I just called Colin's dad before Joe came down, posing as Colin's friend. Colin's at the car workshop, Joe knows the address. I think we better hurry before we miss him again. If in the event that Colin confesses he gave Justin the Ecstasy and spiked Kimberly's drink, and we have no reason for doubts, Hardy Investigations will be finished with the case." Frank smiled apologetically at Nancy, "I'll love to help you along with your angle but I don't think it's a good idea since I'm getting married. But Joe can assist you if you do need help from our agency."
Nancy glanced at Joe again- confidently stretched out on the sofa just a few moments ago, he had squeezed himself to one corner of the couch, as if trying to merge into the background and disappear. And she wasn't exactly very at ease- Frank had been the portrait of a perfect friend and Samaritan earlier in the case and now, he was drawing very clear lines between his case and her case.
The strain was close to breaking point. She wished Frank would just give them both a chance to explain.
"We may need to split up later today so Joe, can you drive too? Nancy, you can follow Joe. I'll make my way down solo."
"Right." Nancy muttered, having no other counter plans, "As you say."
Thus Frank Hardy laid the decree. The rest followed.
***
"Oh, look… my pills are inside…" Joe, rummaging through his glove compartment for his sun shades, drew out a small, white translucent packet. "No need to wake the doctor… it's his lucky day."
She smiled wordlessly and buckled up. As Frank's Lexus rolled out of the driveway first, she saw him hooking his mobile phone's earpiece over his ear. The stony expression was still on his face, judging by his profile, and the urge to explain things hammered at her chest. If she didn't make things clear to him, her heart would burst from the pressure.
But he wasn't giving her the chance. In a way, he was already pairing her and Joe together when he used go to great pains to take care of her personally.
In an instant, everything changed.
"Nan, you don't have to worry too much about Frank. Maybe he just ain't used to… never mind. Anything I say will sound tactless so I'll shut up." Joe threw her a small smile as he merged the Land Rover with the traffic on the main road. "Nan, I was just thinking if you'll like to, maybe, go out some day… with me, of course. Alone… and…"
The traffic came to a halt with the onset of the red light. Nancy wasn't exactly paying attention to Joe but she caught the gist. Her heart sinking fast while pounding hard simultaneously, she knew she would risk her friendship with both the brothers by her impending decision. Frank's car was just up in front, giving her an idea.
"Joe, I'm sorry. The kiss… it should have never happened." She glanced at him apologetically and wiped the hopeful smile off his face immediately. He blinked rapidly before breaking into that easy grin.
"No worries, Nan. I know how weird everything feels right now…"
"Joe, there's something I have to do. I hope you understand…" Throwing him a hapless look, deciding that it was better if she just did it than waste time and breath explaining, she unbuckled her seat belt and threw open the car door. Before Joe could recover from his astonishment, she slammed the door shut and stepped out into the suspended traffic. Running ahead, praying that the lights would not change before she reached the Lexus which was four cars in front, she was oblivious to the commotion around her. Ignoring the raucous horns, she finally reached her goal and tried the locked door's handle frantically. He didn't see or sense her though. Engrossed in a phone conversation, she noticed that he was about to step on the accelerator and pounded the window hard.
"FRANK! OPEN UP!"
Frank turned to his side and his eyes widened in shock. Muttering something into the phone, he placed it on his dashboard before unlocking the door on the passenger's side via a button on his arm rest.
She slipped inside the car, the blast of air-conditioning relieved her from the sweltering Sunday sun.
"Joe's car didn't agree with you?" He smiled awkwardly at her, not comprehending her crazy antics.
"No, Frank. I want to talk about what happened earlier." She laid a hand on his lap, looking up at him solemnly, "There's nothing between me and Joe."
"Well," He kept the smile but shifted his legs slightly, too polite to ask her to retract her touch, "It's okay. I'm glad the both of you hooked up. One of my good friends and my kid brother… who knows?"
"Frank, it's not like that. He was playing the guitar and singing the song you sang to me before. The mood was right, the song was pretty, his room was cozy but…"
Eyeing her oddly, he furrowed his brows and curled his lips thin after which he stared ahead wordlessly. By then, a few cars had overtaken them, horning shriek protests at the Lexus inactivity as they passed. Neither of them cared. From outside her window, she caught Joe driving past with nary a glance their way, his wraparound shades hiding his eyes and almost half his face. A good minute passed when Frank broke away from his rumination and let out a soft nervous laugh. He fired the ignition and started his car. However, instead of going straight as Joe did, he made a sharp right turn.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't barge in like this but I just want you to know how I feel before it's too late." Nancy whispered, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. He kept silent as he turned into an open parking lot and maneuvered the car into a corner spot. It was almost like a vacuum inside the vehicle and right then, noting the quiet frustration etched on his mien, she had misgivings about the correctness of her actions. His life was all paved out and he must have utmost confidence in his decisions but she had to appear once again and throw all that he knew into a whirlwind of quandary.
But he wouldn't be so confused if he really knows that Callie's the one he wants. My appearance will have made no difference. He wouldn't be so uptight.
Maybe…
"Frank, say something…"
"What do you want me to say, Nan?" He looked at her with bloodshot eyes, "You don't just come back into somebody's life… . I'm sorry if I sound selfish but I'm getting married in a few days time. I don't need this."
"Yes, you do. Yesterday, when I said you have found that 'someone', your eyes seemed so sad and regretful. I know it's not my imagination, Frank Hardy. And like it or not, you owe me an explanation. How can you go get married when what we have is unfinished?"
"It is finished, Nan." He rubbed his face, clearly stressed out, "It is finished."
"No." She objected, angry and confused just like the day when she received that email from him telling her that he couldn't go down to New York anymore because he was busy. Their communication broke down because he meant for it to, not her. The next thing she knew, he was engaged to Callie. It hurt more than all the wounds she had ever suffered in her dangerous career, more than she could ever prepare herself for. And Frank Hardy, abnormally irresponsible, didn't even bother crafting out an explanation for some form of closure.
"It is…" Frank took her hand from his lap and clasped it hard, "Nan, I'm sorry if I let you down in anyway but my mind is made up."
"If it was made up, you wouldn't be angry at what you saw!"
"I wasn't angry…" Frank weakly denied, letting go of her hand and rubbed at his temples, "I was probably just shocked."
"You were angry! You didn't smile, joke or tease us as any buddy would. You became all wooden and refused to even look at your brother, as if he had committed some cardinal sin against you. Look, Frank, you owe me an explanation and I want it now. What happened? We had something going. Then it's… it's all gone…" She looked away as her nose and eyes stung with traitorous tears, "And I don't have a clue."
A few seconds passed. She heard him sigh brokenly. If Frank Hardy wanted to bring the conversation to a premature end, there was nothing she could do.
"I was tired of waiting, Nan. I broke up with Callie. I took the plunge just so I can be with you because I believed we would be amazing together. But you strung me along as you kept Ned hanging on. For close to a year, you were looking for excuses to break off with him but never found the courage to tell him the truth- that we were in love. I know I appeared to be understanding to your plight but I was crushed. I thought I was worth you taking a risk and I hate to cheat. Before we got intense, I made it clear to Callie that we needed to explore other options. Yet, you never broke the news to Ned. I just can't keep waiting like a fool."
"I tried," Nancy croaked, knowing he had spoken truly though solely from his perspective. She had delayed breaking up with Ned and had wished that he would end their relationship so the guilt wouldn't be so overwhelming. And she had thought Frank understood- how could she have missed the disappointment which must have shimmered in his eyes each time she let him down? "I thought you'll wait."
"I did, Nan. It just seemed like we were going nowhere and I do not like clandestine relationships. We couldn't even tell Bess and George when all I wanted to do then was to shout to the world that Nancy Drew was mine."
"So you went back to Callie. Do you think it's fair for her then? For you and for me?" She shot, momentarily taken aback by the anguish radiating in his swimming eyes. When he spoke next, it was with the air of regrets and guilt, his voice thick with the past he wanted to bury.
"I didn't go back to Callie. I was down. My whole world was crumbling to pieces and I had no one to turn to, not even Joe as our closeness diluted with distance and absence. Despite all that transpired, Callie still endeavored to be my friend. After a spell, somehow, she noticed my depression and came back to pick up the shards for me. It was hard to forget you but I fell in love all over again with Callie. It was then that I knew."
"And you never told her about us?" Nancy questioned, not liking what she had heard. A part of her refused to take the entire blame for the missed opportunities. She had broken up with Ned but Frank didn't stay around long enough for that to materialize. And she wasn't the only one who cheated, "I think you have actually kissed and gotten intimate with me behind her back while you pretended to be all chaste and virginal in front of her- so I don't really understand when we reached the intensity you spoke of and when we didn't."
"We both cheated, I know. And it'll be my guilt to bear. I'll never be able to get an absolution from her because I can never tell her. I know if I confess, I'll lose her and I can't have that happening, Nan. I'm sorry, I really am. To you, to her…" He sucked in a deep breath and slammed his palms on the steering wheel, "Everything."
"Frank, look at me, please…" She reached over and lightly stroked his cheek, feeling the stickiness of tears under her fingertips, ashamed by the spiteful words she spat, "Tell me you made up your mind and I'll let it go. Give me your definite answer."
He didn't face her and neither did he answer. Like an automaton, he buckled up and started the car engine.
"Frank…" She implored, "For me, now. I need to know your answer. Let me have a closure without any doubt."
"I don't know. I don't want to think about it now."
The answer she wanted came in a defeated voice, throwing more questions than certainties. She didn't know how she should feel- elation, guilt, futility and other assorted emotions tossed in her stomach like last night's bad dinner. There was nothing else she could say; that she wanted to say.
And, judging from his somber mien, she knew it was the same for him as well.
***
Wain's CarWorks was a rundown garage in a seedy part of town. Joe had pondered over the name, Howard Wain. Marcie had called herself, 'Mrs. Brown,' which meant that Colin's father should have the surname, Brown. Maybe, inside the Brown's Villa, dark mysteries floated around and mother and son's estrangement, as witnessed by Frank, could have its origins rooted in the unraveling of one enigma.
He tried to keep his mind away from what had happened earlier- it was useless dwelling on it since it was clear from Nancy that he had been treated like a substitute. Sure, he was angry about it and he was mad at Frank reacting in a way which would have a constituted as a betrayal towards Callie. Maybe he had more girlfriends but Frank managed to tangle himself into more knots with two women than Joe with scores of them. Joe always felt that life was fair, nonetheless, he wished that Frank's exceptional IQ hadn't come at such a heavy price to his EQ.
Intelligent men do the stupidest thing- like getting involved with two intelligent women.
Now, the more pertinent question was if Colin was inside the garage. Professionalism demanded that he ignore all rough tendrils of his private life scratching against his skin. After parking his car across the garage which appeared to be closed for a while with a rusty sedan parked beside its slightly ajar metal roll-up door, he crossed the small lane. Faint rock music drifted out from inside the garage and a strong pungent smell emitted from the gap between the door and the ground. Joe was familiar with the faintly ammoniac stench. One of the members in his anger management class used to smoke marijuana and sometimes, the miasma of the drug hung heavy on his clothes.
Laughter- delusional and hysterical rang out before a crash was heard. Another voice, urgent and pleading, intertwined with the induced hilarity. Joe's limbs sprung into instant action- it was Justin he heard, beseeching demonic ghosts to leave him alone. More giggles from the other person, Colin? Joe pushed the metal door up and gate-crashed in a private drug party. A lanky brown-haired young man in a filthy white t-shirt lay sprawled on the ground, taking puffs of grass as his glazed eyes stared at his thrashing friend, giggling when Justin knocked into workbenches and overturned chairs.
"Kimburlee… don't go…"
"Justin!" Joe hissed, "Justin, what did you do?"
"Don't chase me! Kimberly's waiting!" Justin's crazed look was horrifying. Sweat matted his brown hair over his forehead and he swung a spanner wildly at Joe, "Stop talking! Stop the noise!"
"It's all right, Justin. Calm down. Let's get you somewhere safer…"
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Justin yelled and started batting at the radio on the workbench with the spanner. He missed many times as his limbs jerked spasmodically but finally, he had a hit. The radio crashed onto the floor and the music grew louder, deafening even. The speakers screeched and cackled, obviously not built for such high volume. Instinctively, Joe covered his ears and crouched low, trying to reach for the radio and turn it off when Justin charged at him with the spanner, more agitated than ever. Colin had struggled up and was spinning in circles, laughing and nodding his head faster and faster to the panicky rhythm.
"No! Justin!" Joe brought his hands up to block a swing from Justin. The spanner hit his arm and the jarring pain caused him to grit his teeth. Defending himself, he tried to wrestle the spanner from Justin when the younger man suddenly collapsed onto the floor in front of Joe, twitching uncontrollably.
"Loud… too loud!" Justin wheezed before his spasms overwhelmed him. Curling up rigidly, his fingers balled up in tight fists, he writhed on the grimy floor, face scrunching up with terrible pain. Joe cast a quick glance at Colin and then Justin, knowing that somehow, Justin was having some severe reactions to whatever drugs he had just abused.
"Shh… it's okay. Going to bring you someplace safe." Joe reached over Justin and turned the offending music off. He turned Justin over on his side and unbuttoned his jeans. Next, Joe whipped out his mobile and called for the ambulance.
"Hello, I have an emergency here and need an ambulance ASAP. Possible dire drug reaction… Nope, I don't know what he took…" Joe looked at Justin worriedly but knew that it might be more dangerous for the young man if he drove him to the hospital instead. "Okay, we're at a car workshop called Wain's CarWorks, you can't miss the sign pointing to the garage. It's along Wright's Avenue, near its intersection with Arcade Street. Yes…. Thanks."
He slipped his phone back into his pocket and knelt over Justin, not daring to touch him for fear of antagonizing his heightened senses. Justin seemed to be mildly better with the death of the music but was still wriggling with agony. Colin, however, was still spinning away to a song in his head. He stopped in mid-swirl when he saw Joe and pointed unfocusedly at the intruder.
"Who… you? Alien……"
"Yes, I'm an alien and be quiet." Joe whispered, trying to be as soft as possible, noticing Justin's aversion to noise. But his instructions were useless as Colin turned away and stared up at the ceiling which had wires and thin sheets of paint dangling down.
"I'm in a spaceship… pretty colors… I'm flying…"
Clutching his injured hand, Joe's heart pounded wildly with surges of anxiety as he prayed earnestly for the ambulance to hurry up.